
Ragi Onion Rotti (Finger Millet Onion Chapati)
Prep 5 min · Cook 15 min · Serves 4
Make
Ingredients
- ragi (finger millet) flour — 1 cup
- onion — 1 (chopped)
- green chilli — 1 (chopped)
- curd — 2 tbsp
- coriander leaves (chopped; no quantity given)
- salt (to taste)
- water (as needed to knead)
- oil (as required)
Method
- Combine everything except the oil in a bowl and knead with water, added little by little, into a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into equal balls.
- Grease a pan with oil. Flatten each ball into a small round rotti; the 2016 IIMR printing of this recipe pats it out by hand with oiled palms.
- Cook on a low flame until the underside is done, then flip and cook the second side.
- Serve with curd, pickle or any curry.
Tips
- General practice: ragi dough has no gluten and tears easily; patting it out on a greased banana leaf or plastic sheet helps.
Fresh atta: grind small, use soon
- Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
- Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
- In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
- Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
- Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
- Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))
So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.
Recipe from FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 62 (printed p. 48), written in our own words.